Working platform for elevator hoistways



Y July 3, 1945. R. G. TILTQN WORKING PLATFORM FOR ELEVATOR HOISTWAYSFiled Aug. 2, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mi.' N

lNvENTOR Y E N R o w A July 3, 1945; R. G.' TlLToN 2,379,553

WORKING PLATFORM FOR ELEVAIOR HOISTWAY Filed Aug. 2, 1944 3 sheets-sheet2 llo no /ED 88\ M215/ a M Q INVENTOR ATTORNEY July 3, 1945. R. G'.TILTON WORKING PLATFORM FOR ELEVATOR HOISTWAYS 'Filed Aug. 2, 1944 3sheets-sheet s ENTOR ATTORNEY g Patented July'3, 19.45

UNITED srrg'rlasg PATENT o1-FICE WORKING PLATFORM 'Fon ELEvA'roa fHoIsTWAYs Russell George Tilton, Mountain Lakes, N. J., las.- signor toOtis Elevator Company, NewA York,

N. Y., a corporation of New Jerseyy t Application August 2, 1944, SerialNo. 547,725

7 claims. (C1. 304-29) is especially directed to temporary hoistwayworking platforms' o f this character.v Y

Owing to the diferent sizes of elevator hoistways andto lthe fact thatelevator installations are made at widely separated points, it has beenthe'practice to construct these platforms to fit the particular jobs'.AThis is expensive and it is desirable that such expense be kept at aminimum. Also it is important that such working platforms be safe.

One feature of the invention resides in sup- Lporting framework for aworking platform which is adjustable to accommodate -different sizehoistways. s

` Anotherfeature of the invention resides in supporting framework for aworking platform which automatically locks the platform against descent.

' Other features and Vz'aJdv'ar'itages ofthe invention will becomeapparent from the following `description and'appended claims.,

1n carrying out the invention according to the preferred arrangement,the supporting 'framework for the platform comprises a pair ofleverspivotally joined at their centers to form anex-` pansible X frame'. Theguide shoes for-'guiding the platform on the elevator car guide railsare carried by the X frame. These guide shoes are elongated and aresecured to the ends Vof the levers of the X frame. The connections atyone end of the frame are pivotalwhile theconnections at the other endare slidable to enable the supporting framework to be adjusted to fit`hoistways of different widths. The floors of the platforms arefabricated on the jobs or in the Shop to fit the particular hoistways.Brace rods are carried by the X frame at the front and back. A safetydevice is carried by the framework which acts automatically to engagethe rails and thus support the platform. To lower the platform thissafety device is released. Block and tackle may be provided for raisingland lowering theY platform and a canopy may be `provided to protect theworkmen against objects falling in the hoistway.

In the drawings: l Figure l'is a front view'of a temporary workingplatform embodying the invention, mounted on the lowermost guide railsections; 4

Figure 2' is a view in section taken along the line 2-2 of Figure l;

' Figure 3 is avview ofthe elevator hoistway e illustrating mechanismfor manipulating the platform; n

Figure 4 is a detail with parts omitted illustrating one of the safetybrakes applied to a guide rail, as viewedtoward one side of the rail;y

Figure 5 is a view in section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4; and

`Figure 6 is a front view of the supporting framework 'illustrating astep in mounting the framework on the guide: rails.

Referring mst-"to 'Figures 1 and 2, `the 'suppcrting framework for the-working platform comprises an expansible vX frame formed of a pair oflevers I0 and "II pivotally' mounted at they middle on a king pin I2.`Each Alever comprises ,a pair of boards I3`and I4, those for lever I0being inside those for lever I'I. Each lever has a pair of metal platesI5 at its center on opposite sides thereof., those for lever I0 being onthe inside o f the frame and those for lever II being on the outside ofthe frame. These plates serve as bearing supports for'the king pin.Secured to the ends of the'levers are a pair of elongated wooden stilesI6 and Il, one on each side of the'frame. These stiles have elongatedgrooves I8 (see Figure 5) in their outer faces which nt rather looselyover the -i -guide railsZlly and 2|' for the elevator carA and act asguide shoes to guide the working platform in its movement in thehoistway. Each" guide shoe isprovided at itslower end withya pair ofmetal plates 22, one oneach side thereof, secured thereto as by bolts.Eachfo'f the boards I,3 and I4 of each lever I0 and I Ihas secured tothe lower end thereof a metal Aplate 23. The lower ends of the leversare pivotally secured to the lower ends of the guide shoes by pivotbolts 2li extending throughfthe plates 22 and 23. Each guide shoe isalso provided at its upper end with a pair Aof metalplates 25, one oneach side thereof,'secured thereto as by bolts. Each of boards I3 and I4n of each lever I0 and II has'secured to the upper end thereof a metalplate 26. The upper ends of the levers are slidably secured to thelguide shoes by bolts 21 carried by plates 2B and extending throughaligned elongated slots 28 in plates `25. The X -fram'e is locked inexpandedposition with respect to the guide shoes. This is effected forend eyeletsof the secondarybraces.

each side of theframe by a threaded rod 3U pivotally supported by bolt21 and carrying adjustable clamping nuts 3l. These nuts seat in anaperture formed in a metal angle member 32 and having a side opening toadmit the rod. This angle member is secured to a metal channel member 33in turn secured to the back of the guide shoe as by the bolts securingplates to the shoe.

The floor is of wood and is illustrated as comprising a pair of jOists35 joined by stringers 36 and 31. A working surface 38 which may be madeof plywood is mounted on the stringers 31. The joists rest on the top ofplates 25. Another metal channel member 40 is secured to the back ofeach guide shoe as by the bolts securing plates 25 to the shoe. Theupper ends of these channels extend above the guideA shoes. The floor issecured to the guide shoes as by bolts 4| extending through the upperends of the channelsand the joists 35.

The front and back of theiioor are braced by means of main bracesextending from the corners ofthe iioor'to the lower-ends of the guideshoes. These braces lare kin the form of metal pipes with their ends.attened and drilled to form eyelets. Each of plates 22 hasa ange 46extending outwardly therefrom atright angles. The lower ends .ofthe'main braces are secured to these Iianges as by bolts 41 extendingthrough thelower end eyelets. The upper ends of the braces are securedto joists 35 as by bolts 48 extending through the upper endeyelets.`Additional bracing is provided by secondary braces or tie rods 58.These braces'also are in the form of metal pipes with their endsflattened andA drilled to'form v eyelets. The secondary braces aresecured at their :lower ends to the lower ends of the main braces as bybolts 5| extending through the lower Sleeves 52 are slidably mounted onthe main braces-and at their upper ends thesecondary braces are securedto these sleeves as .by set screws :53 extending throughthe upper endeyelets ofthe secondary braces fand threaded apertures iny thesleeves-to engagethe main fbraces. The secondaryvbraces are -heldtogether at the point of vcrossingas by Uclamps 54.

The Iplatform is automatically locked against descent'bymeans of safetybrakes, onefor each Yguide rail. Various Ytori-ns of safety brakes maybefemployed, Vone which has been foundsatisfactory being illustrated inFigures 4 and v5. This brake comprises a brake Ablock BD secured as byscrews Bil-between and to'plates22 at the lower ends thereof. Theblockhas a straight sided face `ISI `for'engaging one side ofthe guiderail and a ;bevel portion -62 facing but spaced from the other sideofthe guide rail. A roller B3is positioned between-the bevel-portionBZ'andthe guide rail and is rotatably mounted on apin 64caryrledzbyra-supporting plate 65. Thisplate is bent Vat right angles atits'upper end-and has a spindle v86 secured thereto and extendingupwardly therefrom. The spindle extends throughan aperture 61 inthehorizontal arm of an angle 68 secured lthespindle and supporting plateto bias theroller into position wedged between bevel portion 62 of ythesafety blockiand the'guide rail. Thus both brake shoesare normallyapplied tothe guide rail to lock the platform against descent.

l'bottom of the safety block and acts to force the roller away from theraillwhen the plate is pushed downwardly by the bell crank. The bellcrank is pivotally mounted on a pivot bolt mounted on the right handplate 22 of Figure 5. The other arm 8l of the bell crank is providedwith an aperture in its outer end to which an operating chain 82 issecured.

v Referring to Figure l, operating chain 82 is illustrated as aone-piece chain extending from the'operating arm of the bell crank ofthe safety brake on one side ofthe frame to the operating arm of thebell crank of the safety .brake on the other-side of the frame.Thischainis led through pipes..83 carried by the lower arms of the Xframe and terminating near the pivot point of the frame. The middleportion of the chain above the pipes 83`runs over the pulley wheel of apulley block 84. The pulley block is connected to an operating ring 85above the floor by a chain' 86 which extends through `an ,aperture 8'!in the oor.

AReferring to Figures, the platform is raised and lowered by means ofblock and tackle 88. The upper pulley block Blof thismechanism issecured asby a rope 9| to a cross beam 92 at the top of the hoistway.The `lower pulley block 33 is securedas by a rope. and hook .95 to the'king pin I2, the rope94 extending through an aperture 96 4inthe oor. Ananchor 9T is connected by a chain 98 ,to the king pin l2, the chainpassing through an aperture Illin the floor. .A canopy IDI which .may be`in the form fof a frame covered by wire nettingmay be provided for theplatformtoprotectthe vworkmen against falling objects.- This canopy issupported by .pipe ystandards -lll2 mounted Vin pipe flanges |03, loneat each corner of the floor. An opening-is Yprovided in the canopy forthe tackle.

The supporting framework is adapted to be used over-and over again andon hoistways of different sizes. It maybe keptas one assembled pieceofmechanismin-a collapsed state in which event U clamps 54 are removedand the upper ends of the secondary braces are disconnected froms1eeves`52 to enable the supporting framework to befolded in acompactunit.; or-it may be kept in threefseparate sub-assemblies comprisingasone sub-assembly the folded X frame vand as the other two sub-assembliesthe two guideshoes withthe brace rods attached thereto and foldedagainst the shoes.

In installing the working platform, the lowermost sections of the guiderails 2 0 and'2l are first installed. These rails are fastened 4by clipsH15 to rail brackets |05 secured .to the hoistway walls or structure,these clips and brackets not being shown in Figure 2. As an aid tounderstanding'the installing of the supporting framework reference maybe had to Figure 6 in which for convenience various partsof themechanism are not shown. 'Supporting blocks lil'l for the frameworkareplaced on the floor H118 of the hoistway adjacent the rails and levelledto'place rtheirupper ends in :horizontal alignment.` 'The supportingframework' in slightly expanded condition and with the threaded rods 30released as illustrated in Figure 6, is placed in position with one ofthe guide shoes on lthe guiderail with the safety block 'beneath Vthatguide shoe resting on the top of block |01. In mounting the guide shoethe safety brakeis temporarily The threaded rods 30 are now inserted inthe apertures in angles 32 with the lower nuts beguide shoes and railswhereupon the nuts are tightened to lock the X frame in expandedposition.

Referring now to Figures l and 2, the fioor is fabricated to fit thehoistway and a canopy if provided -is constructed andmounted thereon.The floor is secured tothe channel members 4U at the upper ends .of theguide shoes. The braces which up to this time have been tiedl to the-guide shoes are now released. Holes'are drilled at the corners of theplatform through joists 35 and the upper ends of the main braces aresecured to the platform by bolts 48. Several apertures are provided inflanges 46 (see Figure 2) for adjusting the lower ends of the mainbraces to adjust for hoistways of considerable variation in distancefrom front-to back. The upper ends ofthe secondary braces are thensecured to the main braces and these secondary braces are securedtogether at their points of crossing by U clamps 54. The chain 8B is nowinserted through the aperture 81 formed in the floor of the platform andhooked onto pulley block 84 for the safety operating chain. Referring toFigure 3 upper pulley block 90 of the hoisting block and tackle issecured to the crossbeam at the upper end of the hoistway. Rope 94 isinserted through aperture 96 and hooked onto king pin l2, thusconnecting lower pulley block 93 to the king pin. Anchor chain 98 isinserted through aperture and secured at its lowerl end to the king pin.The fall rope of the tackle is then pulled downwardly to lift theplatform suiciently for the blocks |01 to be removed and the fall ropeis snubbed around the anchor. The platform is held by the safety brakeswith the snubbing of the fall rope on the anchor as an added factor ofsafety.

Itis preferable especially in case of long rail sections, to mount thelowermost rail sections on the two lower brackets and to use the workingplatform for mounting next brackets and securing the top of the railsections thereto. To raise the platform, the fall rope of the block andtackle is pulled downwardly until the platform is raised to the desiredposition and the rope is then resnubbed on anchor 91. The safety brakesrelease automatically when the platform is raised. The platform is movedupwardly for mounting each succeeding pair of rail brackets and, ininstances where the distance between rail brackets is considerable, toenable the next brackets to be installed the platform may be moved intoposition above the top of the last installed rail sections a distanceequal to as much as one half the height f of the guide shoes. Succeedingrail'sectio'ns are joined by fish plates IIU asthese rsections areinstalled. To lower the platform, the safety brackets are released bypulling up on ririg and the hoisting tackle is let out until theplatform reaches the desired position, whereupon'the ring is released toapply the safety brakes and the fall rope is snubbed onto the anchor.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from thescop'ethereof, it is vneath the angles and thenuts adjusted to provide about 1/8" operating clearance between theintended that all matter contained in the above description or showninthe accompanying draw# ings shall be interpreted as illustrative andnot in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. Supporting framework for a temporary working platform adapted to runon a pair of guide rails in an elevator hoistway comprising; a pair ofelongated guide shoes, one for each guide rail; an expansible frameconnecting said guide shoes to enable the framework to'y be adjusted tot hoistways of different widths; and meansy for locking the frameworkvirfadjustecl position. p y `r y 2. Supporting framework for a temporaryworking platform adapted to run on'a pair of guide rails in an elevatorhoistway comprising; alpair of guide shoes, one for each guiderail;

means connecting said guide shoes; a safety brake carried by each guideshoe and normally engaging the guide rail to prevent descent of theplatform; and means for releasing said safety brakes to enable theyplatform to be lowered.

3. A temporary working platform for operation on a pair of guide railsdisposed on opposite sides of an elevator hoistway, said platform havinga floor and supporting frame-work therefor comprising; a pair ofelongated guide shoes, one for each guide rail; an expansible X frameconnecting said guide shoes to enable the framework to span guide railsfor hoistways of different widths; means for locking the framework inposition spanning the rails; and a safetyl brake carried by each guideshoe biased to normally engage the guide rail. t

4. A temporary working platform for operation on a pair of guide railsoppositely disposed on each side of an elevator hoistway, said platformhaving a floor and supporting framework therefor comprising; a pair ofelongated guide shoes, one for each guide rail; an expansible X frameconnecting said guide shoes to enable the upper ends ofsaid guide shoes;braces connecting the lower ends of said guide shoes to the corners ofsaid floor; a safety brake for each guide shoe carried by the lower endthereof and biased normally to engage theguide rail; .and means formanually releasing saidv safety brakes.

5. An elevator hoistway temporary working platform having a floor andsupporting framework therefor comprising; a king pin; a pair of crossedlevers pivotally mounted at their centers on said king pin f or relativemovement to form an expansible X frame; a pair of elongated guide shoes,one for each elevator car guide rail; means .pivotally securing one endof one of said'levers to one end of one of said guide shoes and-pivotally securing the corresponding end of the other of said leverstothe corresponding'end of the other -of saidguide shoes; means slidablyconnecting the other end-of said one lever to the other end end of saidone -guide shoe, thereby enabling the framework to span guide rails forhoistways of different widths; and means for lockingthe framework inposition vspanning the rails.

-6. An elevator hcistway temporary working platform having a floor andsupporting framework therefor comprising; a king `pin; a pair oflcrossed levers pivotaly mounted -at their centers on said king pin forrelative movement to form an expansible X frame; a pair of elongatedguide shoes, one for each elevator` car guide rail; means pivotallysecuring the lower end of one of -said levers to the lower end of one ofsaid guide shoes and pivotally securing the lower .end of the other ofsaid levers `to the lower end of the other of said guide shoes; meansslidably connecting the ,upper end of said one lever to the upper end ofsaid other guideshoe and s1idably connecting the upper endof said otherlever to theupper 4endv of said one guide shoe, thereby enabling theframework to span guide rails for hoistways of different widths; meansfor locking-the .upper'ends of said levers to the upper .ends of theirrespective guide shoes to .lock Athe '7. Anfelevator fhoistway temporaryworking -platform having a -oorand Asupporting framework thereforcomprising; a king pin; afpairof crossed levers pivotally mountedV attheir-'centers on said king pin for relativemovement to form anexpansible X frame; a pair of elongated guide shoes, one for eachelevator car guide rail; means pivotally securing the lower end of oneof 1 said levers to thelowerfend of one of said guide shoes andpivotallyv securing the lower end of the other of said levers to thelower end ofthe other of said guide shoes; means slidably connecting theupperend of said one `lever to theupper end of said :other guide shoeand slidably connecting the Lipper end of said other lever to the upperend of said one .guide shoe, thereby enabling the .framework to spanguide rails for hoistways of diierentiwidths; kmeans for locking theupper ends of said levers to the upper ends of their respective guideshoes to lock the framework in position spanning the rails; means forsecuring the oor to the upper ends of said guide shoes; bracesconnecting the lower ends of said guide shoes tothe corner of said oor;

4tie rods cross connecting said braces; a safety brake-for each guideshoe .carried by lthe vlower end thereof to engage theguide rail,eachbrake comprising resilient-meansnormally applyingthe brake to therail to hold said platform against descent; and means for manuallyreleasing said safety brakes to enable the platform to be lowered. i 4

RUSSELL GEORGE TILTON.

